Bought my 13' used with 12 bars, dropped to 11 the next day

Title. On Saturday I bought a 2013 Leaf S built after April of 2013 with the supposedly better battery. The big selling point with this specific example was the full battery health, which the dealer was sure to emphasize, and this is part of what really sold us on the vehicle. They even gave us this little report sheet from the service department showing the battery had a full 12 bars of capacity. So imagine our frustration when we walked out to the car the morning after we purchased it, to only 11 bars.

We haven't contacted the dealer yet as we bought the car on a Saturday, but I'm just trying to figure out if this will be an issue, especially in the long run during winter. We live in MN, where winter heater usage is non-negotiable, so the only reason I was even considering a Leaf is my 12-mile round trip commute. Considering the supposedly newer, better battery chemistry for cars built after April of 13', is 11 bars an acceptable capacity to have? How long will this last me? The Leaf had about 45,000 miles on it when we purchased it, so that gives me hope for potential longevity. I really love the car as a whole, and how it drives especially, but I don't know if I should push for a return or a buyback, or if 11 bars is just fine. I guess I'm just trying to figure out if this is something to be worried about, or not.

What do you guys think?

well the big mistake you made was not scanning the car with leafspy before purchasing, to know the exact battery state of health. I would be annoyed just like you if i 'officially' lost capacity a day after buying the car, but it was likely on the borderline of losing that bar and the previous owner knew that before trading it in by monitoring their battery health percentage.

For a 2013 built after April, you are right on track though, my november 2013 build just lost it's first bar this summer too. That means you have 85% of the original capacity. People in warmer climates have even more worn batteries by now, even the 'good' ones.

for a 12 mile round trip you will be fine for a very long time to come, even with harsh winters. Don't worry about that at all.

Marko

The thing to worry about is if the battery's management system was reset, and the battery is a lot worse than 11 bars. You should do a range/recharge test to determine if this is the case.

Assuming that the battery is a real 11 bar battery, you are good to go for years for a 12 mile commute.

^^
This

Forget about LeafSpy for this task; it is also fooled by a reset

SageBrush said:

^^
This

Forget about LeafSpy; it is also fooled by a reset

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i highly highly doubt a nissan dealer would perform a BMS reset. But to prove it at the end of the day you will need leafspy to see how the SoH is quickly dropping off, and hopefully document it to show that the dealer may have done it.

did you buy this off a small lot or a legit nissan dealership, op?

estomax said:

to prove it at the end of the day you will need leafspy

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No.

Just recharge at a ChargePoint or other station that reports kWh delivered. A brand new 24 kWh battery pulls about 0.25 kWh from the meter for every 1% increase in battery SoC. The 0.25 kWh/% takes into account charging losses. A larger recharge episode (start from a lowish SoC and charge to a highish SoC) is more accurate.

Example:
Say the recharge event added 40% SoC and pulled 8 kWh
A new battery would have pulled 40% * 0.25 = 10 kWh
The tested battery has 8/10 = 80% of new battery capacity

OP's battery should be ~ 85% of new but anything over 80% very likely has ruled out a reset since there is some inaccuracy in the test.

As noted, 11 bars is not at all uncommon for a good 2013 (March was the last month for "bad" builds, AFAIK, not April) now, and if the BMS wasn't reset it will be more than good for your 12 mile commute for many years. First, get LeafSpy Pro and a compatible dongle (see my signature) and check the battery in a few weeks. If it drops another bar in the meantime, you have a BMS reset. If everything seems fine in say a month, you have a good 11 bar car.

The one issue you may have - and this is inherent to the S model - is the heater will suck vast amounts of power in Winter. I suggest a L-2 EVSE of at least 20 amps, so you can preheat the car while plugged in without losing charge in the process. If you have to charge with L-1 (as I still do after 6 years of driving a Leaf) then a 3-5 minute preheat will work ok, and will only lose a few percents' worth of charge.

LeftieBiker said:

If everything seems fine in say a month, you have a good 11 bar car.

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Call it 3 months to be on the safe side. I'm going on my experience with my 2013 'S' model LEAF.
Of course OP does not have that time if he wants to fight for recourse with the dealership so the recharge test is the way to go since it can be completed in a matter of a few hours.

Thank you so much to everyone who responded!

I know one person asked - the Leaf was purchased used from an actual Nissan dealership who has actually offered to take the car back since the bar dropped so soon after I bought the car out of goodwill. I did read about BMS resets before purchasing and I doubt that’s the case with this situation as this dealer seemed quite reputable (as much as you can call a dealer that). Level 1 charging will be all I have access to at home for the foreseeable future so if I do end up keeping the vehicle that’s what I’ll be making do with. Since I’ve used the car for the last couple days, that charging speed hasn’t had any trouble topping me back up to my programmed limit of 80% overnight.

I paid $7900 for the car before tax. Based on what I have seen online, this may be a little high, but I had to take into account this being the only one within 75 miles of my location. Did I get taken for a ride?

I will be sure and try to preform a ChargePoint test like the one mentioned. As of now, the GOM is displaying 82 miles of range fully charged, and generally seems accurate when compared to actual miles driven.

All things considered, my ideal situation would be a small credit / refund from the dealer in exchange for keeping the car. What would you guys do in my situation?

If you can stretch your budget a bit, this 2015 S looks like a better deal:

https://bit.ly/2lZRR3r

It has 12 bars (you need to check SOH with LeafSpy though!), the charge package, plus backup camera.

All things considered, my ideal situation would be a small credit / refund from the dealer in exchange for keeping the car. What would you guys do in my situation?

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If you like the car, and 11 bars now and 10 eventually will easily meet your needs, the price you paid wasn't bad, and getting a few hundred back (maybe for an L-2 EVSE?) would make it a better deal.

You did not get taken for a ride, but it wasn't a great deal either.

If I were in your situation, I would keep the car. Based on your range needs and climate it should last another 8+ years. $1k a year + gas savings is a good deal for transport. In MN, there's a chance the car rusts out before your battery fails you.

You may be able to negotiate a small discount so they don't have to take it back. That's up to you.

Do check for the BMS reset as suggested with the charging. I doubt this happened. If it was reset I'd expect it to take a week or 3 to drop the bar. The fact that it dropped the next day is a good sign, in a way.

Enjoy your new Leaf!